Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Meta-Analysis
. 2016 Apr 20;11(4):e0153981.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0153981. eCollection 2016.

Prognostic Value of Neutrophil-to-Lymphocyte Ratio in Localized and Advanced Prostate Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Lu Tang  1 , Xintao Li  1 , Baojun Wang  1 , Guoxiong Luo  1 , Liangyou Gu  1 , Luyao Chen  1 , Kan Liu  1 , Yu Gao  1 , Xu Zhang  1
Affiliations
Meta-Analysis

Prognostic Value of Neutrophil-to-Lymphocyte Ratio in Localized and Advanced Prostate Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Lu Tang et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

Objective and background: Increasing evidence suggests that inflammation plays an essential role in cancer development and progression. The inflammation marker neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) is correlated with prognosis across a wide variety of tumor types, but its prognostic value in prostate cancer (PCa) remains controversial. In the present meta-analysis, the prognostic value of NLR in PCa patients is investigated.

Methods: We performed a meta-analysis to determine the predictive value of NLR for overall survival (OS), recurrence-free survival (RFS), and clinical features in patients with PCa. We systematically searched PubMed, ISI Web of Science, and Embase for relevant studies published up to October 2015.

Results: A total of 9418 patients from 18 studies were included in the meta-analysis. Elevated pretreatment NLR predicted poor OS (HR 1.628, 95% CI 1.410-1.879) and RFS (HR 1.357, 95% CI 1.126-1.636) in all patients with PCa. However, NLR was insignificantly associated with OS in the subgroup of patients with localized PCa (HR 1.439, 95% CI 0.753-2.75). Increased NLR was also significantly correlated with lymph node involvement (OR 1.616, 95% CI 1.167-2.239) but not with pathological stage (OR 0.827, 95% CI 0.637-1.074) or Gleason score (OR 0.761, 95% CI 0.555-1.044).

Conclusions: The present meta-analysis indicated that NLR could predict the prognosis for patients with locally advanced or castration-resistant PCa. Patients with higher NLR are more likely to have poorer prognosis than those with lower NLR.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Flowchart of selection of studies for inclusion in meta-analysis.
Fig 2
Fig 2. Meta-analysis of NLR value and RFS in PCa patients.
Fig 3
Fig 3. Meta-analysis of NLR value and OS in PCa patients.
Fig 4
Fig 4. Begg’s test results of OS and RFS of PCa patients.
Fig 5
Fig 5. Egg’s test results of OS and RFS of PCa patients.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Jemal A, Siegel R, Xu J, Ward E. Cancer statistics, 2010. CA: a cancer journal for clinicians. 2010;60(5):277–300. - PubMed
    1. Heidenreich A, Aus G, Bolla M, Joniau S, Matveev VB, Schmid HP, et al. EAU guidelines on prostate cancer. European urology. 2008;53(1):68–80. - PubMed
    1. Coussens LM, Werb Z. Inflammation and cancer. Nature. 2002;420(6917):860–7. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Mantovani A, Allavena P, Sica A, Balkwill F. Cancer-related inflammation. Nature. 2008;454(7203):436–44. 10.1038/nature07205 - DOI - PubMed
    1. de Martino M, Klatte T, Seemann C, Waldert M, Haitel A, Schatzl G, et al. Validation of serum C-reactive protein (CRP) as an independent prognostic factor for disease-free survival in patients with localised renal cell carcinoma (RCC). BJU international. 2013;111(8):E348–53. 10.1111/bju.12067 - DOI - PubMed

Publication types